The Thurston County Board of Commissioners celebrated Pride Month on Tuesday with its annual proclamation and celebration.
Since 2018, Thurston County has been officially recognizing the month of June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month as part of a worldwide commemoration of the June 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City.
The event is considered “a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history of fighting for rights, dignity and equality,” Thurston County’s 2026 proclamation reads.
With the proclamation, Thurston County’s leaders recognized “that many LGBTQ+ individuals continue to face discrimination, barriers to opportunity, and disparities that affect their health, safety, and economic security.”
Thurston County’s elected officials further affirmed “that love is love, that diversity is strength, and that all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression deserve to live life free from fear and with full access to opportunity and belonging.”
Speakers from LGBTQ+ advocate organizations in and around Thurston County who were invited to Tuesday’s celebration acknowledged that the current political climate has increased societal dangers for those who identify as LGBTQ+.
Recently enacted anti-LGBT+ legislation in states such as Kentucky have led to a large influx of LGBTQ+ people, particularly people who identify as transgender, moving to Washington state for its discrimination protections.
Many of those transplants have settled in Thurston County, according to Lucas Miller of PFLAG Olympia.
“We anticipate that that situation is only going to escalate, and that more and more people will be seeking refuge here in this area, which we're very lucky to live in, because it has such a history of being accepting and affirming of LGBTQ+ people,” Miller said.
While Thurston County is more welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community than some of its neighbors, the area is not free from discrimination.
Stonewall Youth, a youth-led organization that provides services for LGBTQ+ youth in Thurston, Mason and Lewis counties, recently had to increase its security measures after an incident involving people trying to break into the facility.
Those individuals were reportedly trying to film youth who were confidentially utilizing Stonewall Youth’s services, and allegedly threatened to pepper spray staff who asked them to leave.
“These are tough times, and we need to take care of each other and step up,” said Stonewall Youth representative Cupid O’Tinker. “We need to get involved with organizations like Stonewall Youth and work towards a better future where we can all be safe.”
Thurston County’s 2024 Homeless Census showed that 29% of the county’s homeless population are age 24 and under, and 30 to 40% of that group identify as LGBTQ+, according to O’Tinker.
“Queer youth experience higher school dropout rates than their non-queer peers, as well as higher rates of suicide, houselessness, and more,” O’Tinker said.
Groups such as Sound Mosaic and CHEER Tacoma are actively working to combat the issues facing Thurston County’s LGBTQ+ community by helping them find joy and belonging.
Sound Mosaic, which also calls itself “the queer choir of Olympia,” is in its first year of operation and preparing for its first performances this month.
“We are a choir collectively collaborating to create a safe community space, celebrating queer and expansively identifying voices by making a mosaic of sound and harmony,” said Sound Mosaic representative Renee Rendazzo. “We are actively centering the margins and finding hope and joy in what indeed are very difficult times.”
CHEER Tacoma, which performed at Tuesday’s Pride proclamation celebration, is a nonprofit LGBTQ+ and ally adult cheer group that raises money to support organizations in the South Puget Sound.
“We're all about amplifying impact. We know that we are living in a time where a lot of different kinds of voices are being amplified and not all of those voices are supportive of queer individuals,” said CHEER Tacoma Head Coach Julianne Peckler. “We are cheerleaders, but you're our fans in our stands, so we would like to invite you to sit in our stands, not just this Pride season, but all year long, and find ways that you can cheer for our queer community.”
CHEER Tacoma and Sound Mosaic are both performing at Capital City Pride, alongside a plethora of other performers, June 26-28.
The annual event brings an estimated 30,000 people to the Olympia area, according to event organizers.
A full schedule of performances and events is available at https://www.capitalcitypride.net/
In 2026, Capital City Pride celebrates its 35th anniversary, “continuing to uplift and empower our community, creating spaces that celebrate the joy, resilience, and unity of LGBTQIA2S+ people,” according to a proclamation issued by the Olympia City Council on June 2.
A separate Pride celebration is being held in Tumwater for the second year on Saturday, June 20, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the ASHHO Cultural and Community Center at 5757 Littlerock Rd Southwest.
A Pride event in neighboring Lewis County, Twin City Pride, is scheduled for June 27 at George Washington Park in Centralia. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Olympia and Tumwater city councils issued their own proclamations recognizing Pride Month during their respective regular meetings June 2. Lacey City Council issued its Pride Month proclamation on June 16.
